For beverage containers, one traditional method of packaging includes the use of paperboard or cardboard packages. For beverage cans, it is common to find 12 or 24-pack arrangements of the containers packaged in a paperboard or cardboard container. For bottles, the most typical arrangement is a 6-pack container made of a paperboard material.
More recently, shrink-wrap packaging has been used to package many types of beverage containers, such as 12 or 24-pack arrangements of beverage cans and plastic beverage containers. For example, it is well known to provide shrink-wrap packaging for 24-pack arrangements of bottled water and soft drinks.
In a packaging operation, the group of containers to be packaged are wrapped with shrink-wrap material and then the group of containers pass through a heat tunnel or heat station causing the shrink-wrap film to shrink around and tightly hold the group of containers together. Prior to heat treatment, the shrink-wrap film is dispensed from a roll of shrink-wrap material that is sized to cover the particular group of containers. Typically, the opposite sides or ends of the package each have an opening where the shrink-wrap material does not completely enclose the containers.
Shrink-wrap packaging has many advantages over traditional paperboard/cardboard packaging. Shrink-wrap film is typically made from polyethylene. Polyethylene is a durable material that costs considerably less than paperboard/cardboard. Polyethylene readily accepts printing or other forms of coloration or shading that is desired to be placed on the packaging. However, one disadvantage of shrink-wrap material is that there is no inherent feature in the material itself that lends itself for providing a handle or grasping means. It is known that consumers will often attempt to carry a shrink-wrapped package by grasping the openings formed by the shrink-wrap material that does not completely enclose the opposite ends of the package. Because of the irregular shape of these openings, as well as the non-reinforced nature of the shrink-wrap material surrounding the openings, grasping the shrink-wrap material through the openings can cause the material to tear, thus destroying the package and causing the containers to separate from the package.
Therefore, there is a need for an integral handle or grasping structure that allows the shrink-wrap package to be easily carried by the consumer, without the concern of breaking the package open by tears caused by the weight of the package concentrated at the point where the package is grasped.